


one perfect moment

by kwritten



Series: Femlash February 2016 [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background/Implied Past Buffy/Faith, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5936230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwritten/pseuds/kwritten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>for the fem-feb prompt: "a one time thing"</p>
<p>au: Instead of Angel, Buffy falls for Faith, and on the heels of her betrayal, a new girl arrives at school granting wishes. Canon-events as if Buffy/Anya was endgame all along, from s3-s6</p>
            </blockquote>





	one perfect moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [centreoftheselights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/centreoftheselights/gifts).



“How did you get into my room?”

“All that witchcraft and your home is only safe from the soulless? You really don’t think vampires are the only threat, do you?”

“Anya, get out of my room.”

“I have an idea how to get you out of my head.” 

Her shirt fell to the floor at her feet. 

“Anya…”

Anya waved her hand through the air as though she was batting away a particularly annoying fly, “I know, I know. Epic star-crossed love, Slayer responsibilities, fight the good fight, whatever whatever…” she leaned forward slightly and bit Buffy’s lower lip lightly, “It’s just a one-time thing.”

* 

“I hate men.”

“You broke into my room, _again_ , to tell me something that everyone already knows? I’m busy, Anya.”

“But I want to go to prom.”

“Sounds like a personal problem.”

“Be my date to prom.”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“Which will get me the answer I want?”

“I guess it’s better than going alone…”

“It’s just this once.”

“Right. A one-time thing.”

* 

“Anya?”

“Hey. So… a giant snake, huh? You should have listened to me, ran while you could.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Dying, probably.”

Buffy grabbed Anya’s arm and pulled her out of the way as a vampire leaped out from the crowd, staking him in the same moment. “You always run from the Apocalypse.”

That’s what she said, before leaving, before walking away. 

Anya shrugged, “There’s a first time for everything.” 

* 

“Just smile and be nice. Be yourself.”

“Which one? I can’t do both.”

“You can be nice.”

“To you,” Anya squinted at her. “You seem to be some kind of anomaly.”

Buffy smiled and pressed a kiss on her cheek, “You’ll like them, I swear.”

“I don’t really like _people_.”

“Well, they’ll like you anyway.”

“And it’s just this once? Say hi, eat dinner, and leave?”

“Probably a board game.”

“A one-time thing?”

“Yes… just this once.”

Anya squared her shoulders, “Okay. Let’s meet the family. But I get to invite Hallie for dinner next week.”

Buffy growled, “ _One_ dinner.”

* 

“But… I always sleep on the left side of the bed.”

“Ayn. It’s just one night.”

“Right. It’s not like you’re moving in.”

“Just go to sleep.”

* 

“Hey, there you are. I’ve been calling.”

“ _Magic Box_ is a zoo today, I told Giles not to put those crystals on discount until next week. What’s up?”

“I’m at the hospital with mom, can you pick up Dawn from school? Just this once?”

“Just this once.”

Buffy smiled through the window of the hospital room at Joyce, listening to Anya breathe on the other side of the phone. 

“Buff? I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Nothing. Right.”

“Do you … need anything?”

“I don’t know.”

Buffy heard shouting somewhere in the background and then a large crash, followed by a tirade of reprimands from Anya that got further and further away. When all that reached her ear was dead air, she took the phone away from her face and smiled down at it. 

* 

Anya pressed her chest into Buffy’s back and circled her arms around her, burying her face in Buffy’s neck. “We’ll just take every day one at a time, right?” she whispered. 

Buffy nodded her head slowly, her body shivering from the tears she was fighting so hard to hold back, “Tomorrow will be easier, right?”

“Probably not.”

Buffy chuckled. 

“But at least it won’t be today.”

Today, the day they buried a mother. Today, the day the world ended. Today, when everything changed. Today, the day nothing changed at all. There was still a war to rage in the morning. No time for mourning. 

“One day at a time,” Buffy murmured. 

* 

Buffy winced and held her hand to her cheek, skin stinging from the slap. 

“Don’t you ever fucking die on me _again_ , do you understand?”

“You know, sometimes your inner demon sits a little too close to the skin.”

“I will slap you.”

“You already did!”

“I didn’t go through all that trouble bringing you back to watch it happen again. Next time, I’ll leave you in hell.”

“A one-time thing, right?”

“That’s right, Slayer. You get one _get out of hell free_ card.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

* 

“Hi, I’m Anya. I’m new.”

“Um…? Hi, Anya.”

“Mind if I sit here?”

“I … guess not.”

“So… are you seeing anyone?” At Buffy’s startled face, Anya laughed. “There’s a betting pool and I want to win. Takes up to like a hundred bucks.”

“People are taking bets on my dating life?”

“Thought you were invisible, huh? Trust me honey, you’re too hot not to notice. What did he do? Cheat?”

“Not exactly.”

“Not that you look like the type of girl a guy would cheat on, but men are idiots so…”

“ _She_ didn’t … Why should I tell you any of this?”

“Don’t you just wish she was covered in boils? Or grew a tail? Or couldn’t say _yes_ without sneezing.”

“Not really…”

“I think what people wish for, not that bullshit _I wish for world peace_ -wish, but the real, deep from the heart wish, says more about them as a person than any other question you can ask.”

“I thought you just wanted to win a bet.”

“Oh. I made that up. Obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“So what would you wish for…? I wish…?”

“You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

“I…”

“Not so easy is it?”

“I’d wish for a perfect moment.”

“ _One_ moment?”

“Yeah. Just one good moment, nothing else, no future, no lifelong bliss, just one. Something to hold onto.”

“Sounds sad.”

“Sounds practical.” Anya stirred her yogurt slowly and then smiled, “What would you wish for?”

Buffy stood up, “I don’t believe in wishes. And you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“It doesn’t matter, it was silly. See you around, Anya.”


End file.
